


Born of Cold Flames and The Warmest Love

by verboseDescription



Series: Terrariums [4]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Post-Episode: s02e22 The Answer, The Rebellion, garnet thinks she's the third wheel but she's a vital member of the crystal gem community, romance isnt too prominent in this sorry but its def there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-29
Updated: 2016-09-29
Packaged: 2018-08-18 13:59:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8164381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/verboseDescription/pseuds/verboseDescription
Summary: Garnet's a bit new to being a rebel. She's a bit new to being, actually. Pearl and Rose already know what they're fighting for and why, but Garnet still has to find where her own place is--in the world, and with them.





	

There is no one like Garnet.

There is no one with her gems, or her weapon.

There is no one who fuses like her.

There is no one like Garnet because Homeworld would shatter them before they could even try to be.

So, naturally, she agrees to join Rose Quartz.

Garnet knows nothing about Earth, but she knows she’ll be fighting Homeworld wherever she goes. She might as well have an army to help her with said fight, even if the army isn’t a very large one.

Garnet knows she’ll never fit in back on Homeworld.

But now she’s doubting if she fits in on Earth.

 

Rose Quartz and Pearl work together like a dance that has been practiced to perfection. Garnet doesn’t know where to step to fit in, and all her attempts just remind her of how new she is.

She won’t stop fighting with them. She has her reasons, and her principles are strong enough to survive an awkward conversation or two with her fellow warriors.

It’s not worth making a fuss about, Garnet thinks. It’ll solve itself eventually.

 

But nothing solves itself by sitting around, so Garnet continues to quietly envy Pearl and Rose Quartz and the bond they share, until Pearl sticks her sword in Garnet’s face and says “fight me.”

“I don’t want you to hurt me,” Garnet says, because even though she’s not afraid of hurting Pearl it doesn’t mean she wants to fight her. Pearl just scoffs.

“I wouldn’t think someone who volunteers for a rebellion would be afraid of injury,” she replies.

“I’m not really,” Garnet frowns, “I’ve just never fought you before. I don’t know what to expect.”

“Earth is filled with the unexpected,” Pearl says, “And besides, you’ve seen me in action before.”

“But I’ve never fought you,” Garnet argues, “I know how you move, but I don’t know how to move to block.”

“Well then,” Pearl says with a smile, “I suppose you’ll find out.”

 

Fighting as Garnet is different than fighting as Ruby, even as Rubies.

Anything a ruby does, she does it full of energy, but Garnet is a calmer gem.

Not as calm as Sapphire, but being calm during a fight only helps if you have the energy to fight it.

Garnet does. Sapphire doesn’t.

Garnet fights like an animal stalking prey. She knows she can overpower her enemy and she knows there’s no need to rush.

She just needs to wait for the right time to strike.

But with Pearl, there’s no right time to strike.

 

It’s not that her movements are erratic, or even unpredictable.

When Pearl fights, she fights as though it could very well be her last battle regardless of the situation at hand. There’s no way for Garnet to train with Pearl because training with Pearl means fighting Pearl, and fighting Pearl means fighting till the very end.

There’s three ways the fight will likely end:

  1. Unable to incapacitate Pearl without harming her, Garnet delivers a punch so strong Pearl’s forced to release her form. In the time it takes Pearl to reform, everything changes.
  2. Not realizing how intense her fighting has gotten, Pearl stabs Garnet in the abdomen, forcing _her_ to release her form and making Pearl feel guilty for heckling the newbie.
  3. One of them relents and calls for mercy. It won’t be Pearl. She doesn’t like losing.



 

“Okay,” Garnet says, dodging Pearl’s sword, “You win, so let’s stop before one of us needs Rose Quartz.”

Pearl frowns, but drops her weapon. Garnet follows suit, relieved.

“Homeworld won’t stop for you in a battle, you know,” Pearl says.

“But I’m not fighting Homeworld. I’m fighting you,” Garnet replies, “And I don’t want to hurt you. Not because you’re a Pearl! Because we’re teammates now.”

Pearl stares at Garnet for a moment, then smiles.

“Teammates and friends, Garnet. We’re teammates and friends,” She says, then adds, “Besides, I would be the one hurting _you._ ”

“I know.”

 

Later, Pearl insists to Rose that Garnet meet some humans. Garnet thinks this may be Pearl’s version of an apology for being so rough during their battle. Rose thinks it’s a wonderful idea and that they should set out immediately.

“Which village should we go to?” Rose Quartz asks, clearly excited, “There’s so many to choose from! Oh, but if we want to show her _now_ , we should probably pick one close by…”

Garnet watches as she continues suggesting places to choose from. Pearl looks on with an expression of pure adoration.

“I’m sure whatever place you chose shall be wonderful,” Pearl says, “But please remember, the place we choose, we must chose for Garnet.”

“So we must choose a land filled with love,” Rose giggles.

“We could always ask her where she wants to go,” Pearl suggests, “Garnet, what’s your favorite thing about Earth?”

“I don’t know,” Garnet admits, “I just like being me.”

“And that,” Rose Quartz says, “Is a wonderful thing.”

 

The town they go to, Pearl tells Garnet, is a site for one of the first gem-to-human contact on Earth.

“They know us very well here,” Pearl explains, “You shouldn’t have to hide anything from them.”

Garnet nods and scans her surroundings. The town is full of life with dozens of humans going about their day, all with a sense of purpose and a friendly wave towards the gems. It strikes Garnet that these humans are more certain of their place in the world then she is. Garnet knows that she will find her place soon enough—Garnet’s future vision is no worse than Sapphire’s, if not better—but that doesn’t mean she knows when she’ll find it, or what it is.

“You’re very quiet, Garnet,” Rose Quartz observes, “Is something wrong?”

“It’s nothing serious,” Garnet replies hesitantly, “I just… Don’t know what to do now. I’m not a Ruby; I’m not meant to fight. And I’m no Sapphire; I wasn’t made just to see the future. I suppose I’m just not sure what I’m for.”

Rose Quartz and Pearl both stare at her for a moment and Garnet wonders if she said the wrong thing. Rose loved the fact that two gems could become each other so completely. There was always a possibility that Rose wouldn’t appreciate her questioning herself.

(It was a very small possibility, though.)

Instead of scolding her, Rose Quartz just smiles.

“Homeworld doesn’t control us anymore Garnet,” she says, “Everything they’ve said about how a gem’s supposed to live—that doesn’t have to be true. And you’re proof of that more than either of us. You’re right. You’re _not_ Ruby. And you’re not Sapphire. You’re _Garnet._ And that’s all you ever have to be.”

Garnet smiles at this. Even without her future vision, she could see Rose inspiring countless gems with her speeches.

“We’ve all been told that there’s only one way to live our lives,” Pearl adds, “We can’t fault you for still thinking that, and wanting to know what that ‘one way’ is. But we don’t need The Diamonds telling us our paths. You have future vision, don’t you? That’s all the destiny you need.”

And then, suddenly, Rose Quartz begins to sing.

 _“This is what I was made for, though Homeworld may not know it,”_ Rose begins, her voice echoing beautifully through the small town plaza they were passing.

 _“And fighting was what I trained for, so now I must show it,”_ Pearl continues, dancing in front of her friends, happy for the chance to show off her voice.

 _“A quartz can be just anything, however meek and caring,”_ Rose sings.

 _“And no one can stop a pearl from being daring,”_ Pearl finishes.

The two gems look toward Garnet expectantly, but she’s not so sure what to say. Any verses she might have thought up escape her mind and her throat closes.

She opens her mouth, but nothing comes out.

Garnet can’t join the duet.

There’s no room for a third.

 

Garnet likes humans more then she expected she would. They think she’s cool, which makes her feel impressive. To show her gratitude for their kind words, she gives them advice for their futures, not enough to matter too much, but still serves to make them like her more. A small human gives her a gift of flowers twisted together to form headwear.

Garnet tells the human she’ll treasure it forever and means every word of it.

She knows she isn’t showing it visibly, but she thinks Pearl and Rose have picked up on her change in mood. They seem to think it’s a good time to tell her what they know about humans. Garnet knows one day, they’ll probably look back on this conversation and laugh about how misinformed they were. But for now, Pearl and Rose were the only gem experts on humans.

“I’m not sure how much you know about organic creatures,” Pearl says, “Before I landed on Earth, almost all I knew was that they were softer then we are, and survive more visibly off of their planet. And that they don’t have gems, of course.”

“Humans don’t emerge fully formed,” Rose adds, her tone making it clear she’s been waiting to have someone to dump her knowledge on, “They emerge from each other instead! But only specific humans fulfil the requirements to carry on their species. Generally, they use the same pronouns we use for gems. Other humans are referred to be “he” and “him” instead. They seem to believe that they’re quartzes, and that the other humans require their skills to survive. I don’t think they’re right.”

“They aren’t very advanced yet,” Pearl agrees, “I’m sure they’ll learn that they’re all just soft fleshy creatures, regardless of what their bodies can create.”

Rose nods furiously, “And they have so many things that can harm them! They need food to survive, but if they so much as touch the wrong plant, they’ll be rendered useless for days!”

“It sounds to me that we don’t just need to protect Earth,” Garnet says, “We need to protect humans too.”

“Oh, of course,” Pearl agrees, clearly joking, “While we’re off fighting our oppressive leaders, you can stay here, and use your future vision to make sure no harm comes to these humans and they continue to exist until run out of resources and eventually have to travel the land to find more!”

Pearl isn’t very good at jokes, but Rose laughs anyways.

“There’s nothing stopping me from fighting oppressive leaders and wandering around the world with humans,” Garnet says.

“That’s right!” Rose replies, “Because on Earth, you can do anything!”

 

Rose and Pearl both trust Garnet enough for her to be the one to decide when they attack Homeworld. Garnet feels honored by their trust, but she also knows that it’s fairly obvious that regardless of what kind of loyalty she may or may not have to Homeworld, it cares nothing for her.

Still, Rose Quartz trusts her to lead them. Pearl trusts her to tell her what to do with her sword.

So Garnet tells them what to do.

 

There are five main outcomes if they fight off Blue Diamond’s forces:

  1. They’re defeated and shattered for their treachery. It’s not what Garnet wants to happen, naturally, but it’s always a possibility.
  2. Garnet strikes first and the Homeworld soldiers back away, unsure of what to expect, allowing Pearl to quickly slice them from behind before they can all fight back. Rose tries to see if she can find any of Homeworld’s future plans.
  3. Pearl strikes first and draws the quartzes away from whatever it is Blue Diamond doesn’t want them to see. Rose finds out what she needs to know. Pearl’s forced to dissipate her form because they take too long.
  4. Rose strikes first. All of Homeworlds’ gems immediately go after her, leaving Pearl and Garnet to explore what they please. Pearl finds out valuable information and downloads it to her gem for the rest of them to see later on. They leave before anyone gets shattered.
  5. Rose strikes first. All of Homeworlds’ gems immediately go after her, leaving Pearl and Garnet to explore what they please. Pearl can’t handle the thought of Rose being used as bait and attacks the other gems instead of exploring. Garnet’s forced to try and find out what she can, despite her knowledge on the upper crusts extending only as far as Sapphire, and has no knowledge on how to hack a Diamond’s interface.



Four is a very useful outcome, but also a very unlikely one. Pearl loves Rose. It’s plain for anyone to see. The threat of being shattered means nothing to her, something that makes Pearl seem both alluring and frightening.

Garnet’s glad Rose and Pearl have each other. They deserve someone that loves them.

She just wishes it didn’t make her life so difficult.

 

Garnet strikes first. A group of quartz soldiers stare at her, mouths open, surprised to see her displaying herself so publically.

“It’s the fusion!” an amethyst cries out, “Get her!”

It only takes one punch from Garnet for the amethyst to retreat back into her gem. Pearl swoops in from behind and takes out three more. Out of the corner of her eyes, Garnet sees Rose smash her shield into a few screaming peridots and run off into what she assumes is their base of operation.

Meanwhile, in front of Garnet, four rubies fuse together and go to attack Pearl. Acting mainly on instinct, Garnet lunges at the fused ruby and electrocutes her, making them defuse. Pearl turns to Garnet, a mixture of shock and confusion in her eyes.

“Electricity?” Pearl says, “That’s new.”

“I haven’t even been around for one cycle yet,” Garnet protests, “You can’t blame me for not knowing everything I can do.”

“It doesn’t matter what you can do,” a jasper spits, summoning her weapon, “You’re still an enemy of Homeworld. Which means I’m going to defeat you.”

The jasper runs at Garnet, who immediately takes a defensive position, but before the other gem could land a hit, Rose appears, shield out.

“They’re calling in more forces,” Rose says grimly, “They want to defeat us as soon as they can.”

“Homeworld doesn’t need any more forces to deal with _you_ ,” the jasper snarls, “You’re just a quartz.”

“I am, aren’t I?” Rose agrees, chuckling softly, “And yet here we are. Come on gems, it’s time to go.”

Garnet and Pearl both nod. On their way out, Pearl stabs two peridots.

Garnet knows this action will delay Homeworld’s attempts to make more warp-pads, but she’s not sure that’s the reason Pearl attacked them.

 

They stop to rest in a forest. They’re so deep inside, Garnet can tell that if Homeworld came looking for them, they’d only get lost. Thankfully, Rose knows her way around like she’s lived there for years.

“Rose has always had an affinity for flora,” Pearl says, as if it explains anything.

“Humans have something called ‘trackers,’” Rose elaborates, “It’s their job to know how to navigate places like this. I simply asked them for some advice.”

“She does it better than they ever could,” Pearl whispers to Garnet, speaking just loud enough for Rose to hear.

“Oh, I’m sure,” Garnet agrees, not even bothering to lower her voice, “Not one creature here is a match for the great Rose Quartz.”

“I can’t argue with anyone so intent on singing my praise,” Rose says, and grabs both Pearl and Garnet into a hug, “And Garnet; haven’t I told you to just call me Rose?”

“No need to be so formal with us,” Pearl agrees, then looks up at Rose with a smile, and gives her a quick kiss on the mouth. Rose gives an overdramatic gasp, and kisses her back.

Garnet gives a small smile. Her feelings of isolation are returning, but Rose’s strong arms are still around her, and Pearl’s small body is still pressed next to her and Garnet thinks maybe she shouldn’t be worrying so much.

Instead, Garnet looks to the future and sees what will happen if she kisses one of her friends.

  1. They laugh.
  2. They kiss her back.
  3. They love her back.
  4. They love her back.
  5. They love her back.
  6. They have always loved her back.



“Apologies,” Garnet says, shifting herself slightly so that her face is close enough to Pearl’s that she could lean forward brush Pearl’s nose with her own, “Sometimes I think I’m too formal for my own good.”

Pearl smiles at her and leans forward.

Garnet’s future vision is never wrong.

 

“Do you think we need a name?” Roses asks suddenly. The sun is setting, and Pearl and Rose have dragged Garnet atop a mountain that they declare has the best view in their hemisphere.

“I already have a name,” Pearl declares proudly, “I’m the Renegade.”

“And it’s a lovely name,” Rose says, “But I mean a _team_ name. Calling ourselves rebels is all well and good, but do we want that to be all we are? Just some pesky gems who don’t listen to our leaders?”

“It’d be nice to have a team name,” Garnet agrees, “Especially for when there’s more of us.”

 _“More?”_ Rose repeats, clearly pleased with the thought, “And here I thought Homeworld had said only gems worthy of the Refinery would listen to me.”

“You know Homeworld,” Pearl says dismissively, “They’re useless unless they have a pearl to do what needs to be done.”

“And that’s exactly why we’re already one step ahead of them!” Rose agrees triumphantly, “We’ve got Pearl to tell us what to do.”

Pearl blushes and tries to brush off the compliment, but both Garnet and Rose refuse to let her.

“It’s clear to me how important you are,” Garnet says, “Crystal clear.”

“Ohhh, I like that!” Rose says. Garnet and Pearl look at her and frown. “We can be the Crystal Gems!”

“Should you really name us on a whim?” Garnet asks.

“We should want our name to mean something,” Pearl agrees, “Though it does have a certain ring to it…”

“I don’t see anything wrong with it,” Rose protests, “It doesn’t have any special meaning to it, but that doesn’t mean we can’t give it one. We don’t have to be Homeworld’s gems anymore. We’ll be the Crystal Gems!”

Rose says her last sentence so dramatically, Garnet feels the need to give her a small ovation. Pearl sees Garnet clapping and rolls her eyes.

“Well,” Pearl says grudgingly, “We don’t have to actually say _how_ we decided our name.”

“That’s the spirit!” Rose cheers.

By this time, the sun had almost set, filling the sky with array of soft, pastel colors.

“I’m glad you dragged me up here,” Garnet says, “Earth is beautiful.”

“It’s important that we know what we’re fighting for,” Rose tells her, “We’re not just fighting against Homeworld. We’re fighting _for_ something to. Like sunsets.”

“Like love,” Pearl adds with a dreamy sigh.

“How romantic _,”_ Garnet says, but even though what they said was beyond cheesy, the other gems had inspired her.

Garnet clears her throat and sings:

_“This is what a fused for, though others fear my power_

_A garnet can do many things, but of those I’d rather_

_Walk through a forest, and give myself some flowers”_

With that, Pearl smiles and picks a flower up from a small patch of grass, sticking it in Garnet’s hair.

 _“Rose…”_ Rose sings, smiling at her fellow Crystal Gems.

 _“Pearl…,”_ Pearl sings, adding her voice to Rose’s without hesitation and with perfect harmony.

 _“Garnet….,”_ Garnet sings, her voice adding a beautiful finishing touch to the melody, one she knows wouldn’t be completely without her. Together, all three gems raise their voices to deliver one final line.

_“The Crystal Gems!”_

A small satisfied silence fills the air, but quickly gets interrupted by Rose snorting, quickly followed by Pearl giggling and soon Garnet adds her own snickering to the mix, unable to hide her laughter despite her attempts to maintain an air of calmness.

The three of them stay on the mountaintop in the fading light of the sunset, shoving each other playfully and laughing for no reason but the fact that they could, and that they could do it together.

And it feels a little like destiny.

**Author's Note:**

> I see Pearl as the kind of person who tries to make jokes about Homeworld at the beginning, just to sort of deal with being on her own and etc., and really appreciates having the freedom to rome around  
> Garnet seems a lot more timid in this, I think, but that's mainly because it's from her perspective and she hasn't quite got down her Look yet  
> Rose is Rose. there's not too much to say about her.


End file.
